People are almost always unable to walk in a straight line without a reference point. This is true with people who are blindfolded, as well as people who are walking without a clear reference point such as the sun or a mountain. Researchers don't know why people can't walk in a straight line without a reference point, but oddly enough, people tend to walk in straighter lines on sunny days and in more circular lines on overcast days.
More facts about directions:
- Scientists think that humans are born with an innate sense of direction, but they don't know why some people are better at finding their way around than others.
- It's not just walking that is affected. Humans also can't drive or swim in a straight line without visual input.
- The geography of a place doesn't affect our ability to walk in a straight line either. Researchers have replicated these results from the desert to the woods to the beach, and in each place, humans simply can't walk straight without visual input.